Aider on FreeGameStore

Build a free game using Aider. The agent reads the platform's SKILLS.md and knows the brand rules, the CLI, and the deploy flow before it writes a line of code.

Before you start: install Node 22+ and the FreeGameStore CLI.

npm i -g @freegamestore/cli fgs login

Set up Aider

Install Aider
python3 -m pip install aider-install && aider-install

Or follow the latest instructions at aider.chat.
Scaffold the game
fgs init my-game --template canvas cd my-game
Add platform context to a CONVENTIONS.md file
Aider reads any markdown file you hand it via --read:

cat > CONVENTIONS.md <<'EOF' # FreeGameStore platform conventions Source of truth: https://freegamestore.online/skills.md - Manrope + Fraunces fonts only. - Brand CSS tokens via var(--accent), var(--ink), var(--paper). - Zero tracking SDKs. - Use the Shell component layout. - Push to main = auto-deploy. No staging. EOF
Start a session with the conventions loaded
aider --read CONVENTIONS.md --read https://freegamestore.online/skills.md

The --read flag pre-loads context that's always available without consuming chat tokens.

Prompt the build

/add web/src/App.tsx web/src/components/Shell.tsx Build a habit-tracker game: list of habits, daily check-off grid for the last 30 days, streak counter. Persist in localStorage.

/add web/src/App.tsx Refactor: extract the timer logic into a useTimer hook with proper cleanup on unmount. Add unit tests with vitest.

Iterate

Run the dev server
cd my-game && pnpm install && pnpm dev

The agent will tell you which file it edited; refresh the browser to see the change.
Run compliance checks
fgs check

Catches missing brand fonts, tracking SDKs, oversized bundles, and missing PWA manifest before publish.
Publish
fgs publish --store games

Provisions github.com/freegamestore-online/my-game, the Cloudflare Pages project, the DNS record, custom subdomain at my-game.freegamestore.online, and the storefront entry — atomically.
Push your code
git push upstream main

Auto-deploys via Cloudflare Pages in ~30 seconds. Future commits to main deploy automatically.

What the AI knows (and doesn't ask you for)

Once SKILLS.md is loaded, the agent will:

Use the platform's CSS tokens (--accent, --ink, --paper, …) — never redefine them.
Use Manrope (body) + Fraunces (display) — never custom display fonts.
Refuse to add Google Analytics, Plausible, Mixpanel, or any tracker.
Use localStorage for persistence (or @freegamestore/games KV for connected games).
Push to main for deploy. Never wrangler pages deploy manually.
Never ask you for Cloudflare or GitHub tokens.

The compliance suite (fgs check) enforces all of the above on every push, so even if the AI slips, the platform catches it.

Get the source

The CLI, SDK, and compliance package live at https://github.com/freegamestore-online/platform. Reading the source is allowed — and often illuminating when you're trying to coax a difficult prompt.

Tips for Aider specifically

Use /add to bring files into the chat context. Use /drop to remove them when done.
/architect mode plans before editing — useful for multi-file refactors.
Aider commits each AI change to git automatically — /undo reverts the last commit if you don't like the result.
Swap models with --model claude-3-5-sonnet or --model gpt-4o at startup.